First day: Worcestershire have scored 408 for the loss of eight wickets

Like so many other recent days out in the middle, this one started off miserably for Worcestershire.

But what a transformation there was come close of play last night, chiefly thanks to the efforts of doublecenturion Stephen Moore.

From the grim reality of being 20 for three inside the first half-hour to achieving maximum batting bonus points, it was an extraordinary day's play And all orchestrated by an extraordinary batting display from Moore, who reached a careerbest 228 not out.

It was an innings that delighted the New Road crowd but the one man on the ground least impressed by Moore's physically draining effort had to be Australian Michael Di Venuto.

It was his dropped catch, at second slip off the bowling of Ian Hunter when Moore had made just 12, which proved the turning point to the whole day's play.

When Worcestershire won their first County Championship match of the season at Derby last month, they were helped on their way by a glut of dropped catches. But the argument that catches win matches was never more brutally and painfully expressed than here.

Moore's vigil at the crease, which lasted almost seven hours, would have been cut short by six hours had Di Venuto held a thick edge to which he got two hands while diving to his right at second slip.

"You need a little bit of luck like that to build an innings," said Moore. "It started off quite hard work. They bowled well and there were one or two strange deliveries that climbed but you have to expect that sort of thing early on and you just have to hope things go your way.

" I felt a lot more comfortable and relaxed the longer I stayed out there but it certainly helps to have someone as good as Jamie Pipe coming in at No 10. It meant I could just carry on playing and not have to worry about milking the strike, like you might have to with a normal tail-ender."

In truth, Moore has not been in the best of form of late. He was one of three players out for ducks when Worcestershire slumped to nought for three on the way to a humiliating defeat to the students of Loughborough on Monday and he had hit just one Championship halfcentury since his previous career-best, 146 against Surrey at New Road last June.

But Di Venuto's miss gave him a second life and the 24-year-old English-qualified South African took it in the most exemplary fashion.

He had reached 184 before he gave another chance, again a hard one to Jon Moss low at midwicket. And, although missed again on 217 by Derbyshire wicketkeeper Luke Sutton, labouring under the handicap of a twice-dislocated right index finger, Moore continued to make the visitors pay.

By the close, he had hit 31 fours and a six on his way to a first double-hundred which has so far taken up 325 balls. The addition of just one more run will help him break the record individual score for this 106-year-old fixture, set by Tim Curtis in 1992.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, Worcestershire did not appear likely to end up in anywhere like such a happy position early on.

Stephen Peters was caught behind in the third over of the day, Graeme Hick fell the same way after a ball climbed on him and clipped his glove and, after his first-ball exit on Monday, Ben Smith went to the third ball he faced, caught at third slip.

But, after getting brief help from Vikram Solanki until the skipper gifted a catch to midwicket on the stroke of lunch, Moore would have got nowhere without the help of century stands with Chaminda Vaas (47) and Pipe (35 not out).